Brewery Organizes 1st Career and Talent Pool Day

Sierra Leone Brewery Limited last Wednesday (29th November) organised their first annual career and talent pool event at their offices in Wellington.

Students from Fourah Bay College, Njala University, Institute of Public Administration and Management, University of Makeni and the Institute of Advanced Management and Technology participated in the event.

Addressing students, heads of departments and employees, SLBL’s Managing Director, Daaf van Tilburg said plans were underway to transform the company into a world class brewer.

He said SLBL has been offering quality contributions to the country and career opportunities to new employees.

“SLBL is keen to know key universities in the country that breed Sierra Leonean talents, as brewery believes that their employees are the key success for sustained business development,” he said.

Mr. Tilburg said SLBL has existed in Sierra Leone for fifty-five (55) years after its formal incorporation in March 1961.

“Our activities are always aligned with our vision, which is to be an exemplary company contributing to the sustainable development of the country by creating more valued stakeholders. An institution as a family in which employees share common culture and work collectively to achieve set goals,” he said.

He disclosed that over the years SLBL has invested over one hundred and fifty billion Leones (Le150bn) in Sierra Leone, adding that the company is not only an employer but also an investor that supports more than 25,000 sorghum farmers and their families under the sorghum project which was launched 11 years ago.

He said the project created over 7,000 direct and indirect jobs, inclusive of retailers and distributors.

“In the areas of our corporate social responsibility, we have constructed hospitals, schools and community centres through the access to the Heineken Africa Foundation. We are currently constructing fully-equipped hospitals at Wellington and Calaba Town,” he said.

He encouraged the visiting students and lecturers to make good use of the opportunity and create networks vital in building their future as they might be opportune to be part of the brewery family.

SLBL’s Head of Human Resource, Mrs. Zorah Anthony, noted that the event was the first Career and Talent Pool Day organised by her company, adding that the initiative would be adopted as part of the company’s culture and they would ensure that it becomes an annual event in the coming years.

She indicated that Career and Talent Pool Day is a free resource event that helps potential candidates to discover what is available in terms of career and job opportunities in a single location.

“It will also give employers the opportunity to meet with talents that they can source from witnessing such event. The reason for the initiative is unique and we hope that it would be a motivator to other institutions to give students the opportunity to learn about their requisite skills and requirements from potential employees,” she said.

Mrs. Anthony said students would realise benefits of being part of the brewery family, and also be given an opportunity to explore different options and career paths they could take.

“The Annual Career and Talent Pool Day is an opportunity for students and lecturers to meet and interact with stakeholders of SLBL,” she said.

She revealed that SLBL has been able to boost their productivity because of state-of-the-art equipment and automated machines that are used in the production of its products.

Presentations were made by the heads of engineering, commerce, supply chain, finance and other departments.